Meat-cutter.



PATENTED JULY 21, 190s. A. w. JoHNsoN. MEAT CUTTER. APPLICATION FILED 00T. 9. 1902,

z Sunnis-sum1.

N0 MODEL.

A TTUHNE YS.

Patented July e1, 190e.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.-

ALFRED W. JOHNSON, OF NEW BRUNSWICK, NEW JERSEY.

M EAT-CUTTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 734,335, dated July 21, 1903.

Application filed October 9, 1902. Serial No. 126.437. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: Y

Be it known that I, ALFRED W. JOHNSON, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of New Brunswick, in thecountyvof Middlesex and State of New Jersey, have invented new and useful 'Improvements in Meat-Cut-y ters, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description. i A

My invention relates to improvements in meat-cutters of that class which employ a trough-shaped bed and a suitablel type of cutter mechanism arrangedto operate in a way to cut-thin slices from dried beef or other meat placed on the bed.

-One of the improvements which I have made resides in the provisionof meansauxiliary to the usual slide for feeding the material to the knife in a manner to make the latter cut slices uniform in thickness from the material. Ordinarymeat-cutters which employ a slide advanced intermittently and in unison with the movement of the knife do not at all tmesregularly and uniformly advance the top and bottom parts of the meat, because the meat being` soft andfyielding is forced back at the top by the forward stroke of the knife, while that. part of Athe meat at the bottom of the trough is advanced by the feed motion so that the ymeat .is displaced and advanced, withl the result'that the slices are not uniform, but, on thecontrary, they ta-per toward the upper end, thus'causing the meat t0 be cut in an inclined direction, which in due course produces atpointed end, and

this makes it necessaryto invert or reversethe meat on the bed one ormoi'etimes before it is all cutaway. I

My improvement overcomes the irregular feed of the meat, because it is gripped or held against displacement on the movement of the cutterfsaid improvement allowing the free or uninterrupted movement of the meat toward the cutter.

Another improvement which I have made resides in an adj ustablaclaw, which is carried by the feed-slide and projects forwardly therefrom to engage the meat at the top or side and hold it in position, so as to assist in feeding the meat properly to the cutter, said claw being adjustable to any desired position in order to properly engage with meat of dif- -ferent sizes and shapes.

Further objects and advantages ofthe invention will appear in the course of thesubjoined description and the novelty will'be delined bythe annexed claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings', forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indi- Acate'corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a perspective View of a meatcutter equipped with myimprovements. Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof. Eig. 3 is aneularged detail View in elevation of a portion of the feed-slide equipped with a clamp adapted to adjustably confine the claw forming one of my improvements. Fig. tis a vertical section through one side of the feed-trough,

illustrating the gang of toothed wheels forming another feature of'my improvement.

Fig. 5 is a detail view of the gang of toothedv feed-wheels; and Fig. 6 is a perspective sectional view illustrating the revoluble feeder, which includes the gang of toothed Wheels.

In order that others skilled in the-art may understand my improvements, I have illustrated them in connection with an ordinary meatslicer, andin the drawings, vdesignates a trough-shaped bed having the usual legs and the upright frameyplate 7, said frameplate having a post 8 extending upwardly a suitable distance to furnish a support for the pivotal bolt 9, on whichis hung a cutter-frame 10. This cutter-frame isprovided with al knife or blade 11 and with la handle 12, and said cutter-frame and its blade are arranged to traverseaange'l, which bounds the delivery-opening Min the upright frame-plate 7.` In the trough-shaped bedvis arranged a' feed-slide 15, a part of which is shown by Fig. 3. This feed-slide is shaped to fit snugly in the bed, so as to have free slidable movement therein, and at one end the slide is provided with an arm 16, having a sleeve 17 for the accommodation of the feed-screw 18, the latter being journaled in suitable bearings 19 on the bed. The arm 16 of the feed-slide isfprovided with a toothed .1atch.20, the', teeth of which eX- tend into the sleeve` 17 in order to have engagement with the threads on the feed-screw, thus making provision for the advancement of the slide when the screw is rotated. At one end this screw is provided with a ratchet 21, with which engages a pawl 22, carried by a IOO lever 23, to which is attached a link 24, having connection with the swinging cutterframe. This pawl-and-ratchet mechanism is similar to devices ordinary in this art, and I do not consider it necessary to more particularly describe and illustrate the same.

One of the slanting sides 5 of the troughshaped bed 5 is provided near the deliveryopening 14 with a series of slots 25, said slots being spaced at suitable intervals and opening through the inner face of the side 5, as shown by Figs. 4 and G. The series of slots extend vertically from the bottom to the top of the slanting side, and in this side 5 is provided a longitudinal opening or passage 26, the latter iutersectingwith the slots and forming an elongated bearing for a feed-shaft 27. This feed-shaft extends upwardly from the bottom of the bed 5, and it is free to rotate in the opening 26 thereof. The shaft carries a gang of feed-wheels, indicated at 28 29, (see Figs. 4, 5, and 6,) the positions of these feedwheels being also indicated by Fig. 1. The gang of feed-wheels are preferably made fast with the shaft 2b', and they are arranged to work in the slots 25, so that the toothed edges of the wheels will project through the slots and beyond the inner face of the slanting side 5, whereby the gang of feed-wheels will lie in the path of the meat or othersubstance restingon the trough-shaped bed. I may employ any suitable number of these feedwheels, although I have shown iive of them in the gang, and these feed-wheels may be of any suitable construction. The feed-wheels are disposed in that side of the bed opposite to the side from which the post S extends upwardly, and thus the feed-wheels lie in one side of the bed, while the opposite side thereof is adapted to be traversed by the swinging cover-frame and the knife thereon, the gang of feed-wheels thus lying on the distant side ofthebed. Thefunctionofthesefeed-wheels is to engage with the meat and prevent it from being displaced by the swinging motion of the cutter, and these feed-wheels operate to advance the upper and lower parts of the meat uniformly and regularly, thus preventing the knife from cutting the meatin tapering slices and insuring uniformity in thickness of the slice.

I have found that good results are obtained by employing feed-wheels which are of uniform size and have their teeth facing in the same directions; but better results are obtainable when the feed-wheels 28 at the lower part of the gang are made smaller than the feed-wheels 29 at the upper part of the shaft and by making the teeth of the lower and smaller feed-Wheels 28 face or hook in an opposite direction to the inclination of the teeth on the larger and upper feed-Wheels 29 of the series.

The lower feed-wheels 2S engage with the meat resting on the bed, so as to be turned by the sliding movement which is given to the meat by the advancement of the slide 15,

and as'these wheels 28 are fast with the shaft 27 the latter will be rotated and positively turn the Wheels 29 of the gang, said wheels engaging with the upper part of the meat and insuring the advancement of the meat uniformly throughout the area ot" the front end thereof. It will thus be understood that the gang of feed-wheels will be embedded in the meat, so as to prevent displacement thereof by frictional contact with the knife on the movement of thelatter, and these feed-wheels will turn easily and freely in a direction which permits the advancement of the meat on the pushing action of the slide 15 without hindrance.

Auother improvement which I have made in the machine is the claw 30, which is attached to the feed-slide 15 and projects forwardly beyond the front side thereof. (See Figs. 1 and 2.) This claw is provided at its free end with a lip 31, having a serrated or toothed edge adapted to be embedded in the meat, and the rear end of the clawis provided with a ball-shaped head 32, said rear part of the claw being reduced in size in order that it may fit in an inclined slot 33, which is provided in the feed-slide 15. The slot allows the easy application of the headed rear end of the claw into the slide, and this head is adapted to bear at its top edge against a curved iiange 34, provided on the upper edge of the slide 15. The lower side of the head 32 is engaged by a clamp 35, arranged on the rear face of the slide 15 and pivoted thereto by a screw or bolt 36, which is fastened to the slide on one side of the slot 33. The free end of the clamp 35 is engaged by the headed end of the bolt 37, which passes through an opening in the flange 34: and is equipped with a winged thumb-nut 38, the latter adapted to bear on the top of the slide 15. This nut and bolt may be tightened to draw the clamp 35 forcibly into engagement with the head 32, and the clamp serves to hold the claw firmly in any desired position. The head 32 allows the claw to be adjusted up or down and crosswise with relation to the head, and the claw may also be turned so as to change the angle of presentation of the serrated flange to the meat, whereby the claw may be adjusted to engage with pieces of meat which vary in shape and size. The claw projects forwardly from the slide by which it is carried, so as to be advanced with the slide under the action of the feed mechanism, and this claw is intended to engage with one side of the meat while the feed-Wheels engage with the other side of the meat, thus making the claw and the gang of feed-wheels coperate with the bed and the feed-slide in properly presenting the front end of the meat to the cutter mechanism.

It is necessary to arrest the advancement of the slide 15 before it reaches the front end of the bed, because the claw 30 projects beyond the front end of the slide. To accomplish this end, I provide the slide with a trip- IOO IIO

arm 39, which is fastened to the sleeve 17 to project beyond the front end of the slide, said arm terminating in a beveled nose 40 and being provided with a guide-sleeve 4l, fitted loosely on the screw 18. (See Fig. 2.) The nose 40 of the arm is adapted to engage the pawl-lever 22 and lift the same, so that the pawl cannot engage the ratchet 21, thus arresting the rotation of the screw and the feed of the slide 15.

Although I have described the machine as essentially adapted for cutting meat, it is evident that it may be used to slice other substances.

Although I have shown and described my .improvement as appliedvto a meat-cutter having a swinging knife, it is to be understood that the same may be used on other styles of meat-cutters, such as those which use a rotary cutter. p

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Paten't- 1. A cutting apparatus having a bed, an idly-mounted feeder provided with two sets of wheels rigidly connected together and having oppositely-inclined teeth extending into the path of material to be placed on the bed, and means whereby the material may be advanced, the movement of the material operating the feeder through one set of teeth thereon. Y

2. A cuttingapparatus having a bed, a rotary feeder mounted on the bed and having two sets of toothed wheels rigidly connected together, the teeth of one set of wheels being disposed oppositely to the teeth on the other set of wheels, and a feed mechanism traversing the bed. p v

3. A cutting apparatus having a bed provided with openings, a revoluble4 feeder comprising a shaft and a gang of toothed Wheels rigidly connected together by said shaft, cershaft mounted in the bed close to the path of the cutter mechanism, and a gang of feedwheels rigidly connected -together by said shaft, certain of said feed-wheels having teeth extending in an opposite direction to the teeth on other feed-wheels of the series.

5. In a cutting-machine, the combination with a bed and afeed-slide, of an arm extending forward from the slide and above the bed, provided with a claw at its forward end; and a universally-adjustable clamp connection between the rear end of the slide and the arm.

6. In a cnttingapparatus of the class described, a slide, a claw having a ball-shaped head, and a clamp carried by the slide and engaging with said head to clamp the claw adjustably to the slide.

7. In a cutting apparatus of the class described, the combination'of a bed, a cutter mechanism, a gang of feed-wheels rigidly connected together and idly mounted in said bed on one side thereof, a slide, and a claw fastened adj ustably to the slide and disposed in a forwardly-projecting position relative to the slide to engage with the opposite side of the material from that side adapted to be engaged by the gang of feed-wheels.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

ALFRED W. JOHNSON. 

